WILKES-BARRE, Pa. — Exactly seven years after the Mohegan Tribe launched Pennsylvania's gambling industry, it is cutting the ribbon on a $50 million expansion that tribal leaders hope will position the state's oldest casino for growth in a maturing market.

A 238-room hotel and 20,000-square-foot convention center are the latest additions to the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs casino complex in northeastern Pennsylvania. Officials debuted both on Thursday.

"The hotel certainly is part of our strategy to get more and more people from farther and farther distances to come more often and stay longer," said Michael Bean, who attended the casino's opening and now serves as its second president and CEO.

Mohegan Sun has come a long way since its Nov. 14, 2006 launch, when thousands of gamblers mobbed a temporary, no-frills facility overlooking an old harness-racing track. The tribe opened a $208 million permanent casino on the site in 2008, introduced table games two years later and now hopes to boost business with a hotel that features iPad minis in each room, touch-screen room service and other amenities.

Mohegan Sun's expansion has tracked the rapid rise of the state's casino market, which has emerged as the nation's second largest after Nevada with more than $3 billion in annual revenue. But that market has shown signs of cooling off as competition from surrounding states heats up.

Mohegan Sun hasn't been immune. Casino revenues dipped 5 percent last year to about $267 million — a result Bean chalked up to overall economic conditions as well as the fact that Mohegan Sun has been a construction zone for more than a year.

Mohegan Sun hopes adding a hotel will expand its reach by peeling gamblers away from competitors that don't offer lodging. An overwhelming majority of Mohegan Sun's existing customer base lives within an hour's drive, and Bean said it's unclear how much more growth can be achieved in the local market.

"The people who are already gamers, who have utilized just about every amenity at their primary or convenient casino, would then be looking for a new and different experience, and we believe we can provide that very well," he said.

Competition could come from New York state, where voters last week approved seven new casinos — including one in the Binghamton area, on the edge of Mohegan Sun's home territory.

While the casino hasn't traditionally drawn much business from New York, a competitor so close to home could prove to be something of a challenge now that Mohegan Sun hopes to attract gamblers from a wider area.

"It's something that we certainly take seriously and want to understand," Bean said.

The casino in Plains Township, just outside Wilkes-Barre, lures more than 4 million visitors per year with its mix of more than 2,300 slot machines, 84 table games, and upscale shopping, high-end dining and entertainment.

Page 2 of 2 - The tribe also owns the Mohegan Sun casino in Connecticut as well as Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, N.J.